Union ditches weight armband

Overweight children playing rugby for Wairarapa Bush will not be identified with an armband.

In a meeting held on Thursday night, the union decided it would assess the trial of no armband identification for the over-weight children in a couple of weeks.

It had been making overweight children – listed on its overweight player register – wear neon yellow socks, until week ago when it decided to instead make them wear an armband. Now it’s neither.

Wairarapa’s Junior Advisory Board (JAB) rules state that any player playing up one grade because of weight or having been granted dispensation to play down a grade and is 10 kilograms above the weight limit for that grade will be entered into the overweight player register.

Under the Human Rights Act 1993, weight is not included as a prohibited ground for discrimination, and the children will remain on the overweight list. This register was put into place to protect the safety of other children playing, Wairarapa Bush chief executive Tony Hargood said.

A five-minute discussion at Thursday night’s meeting resulted in the decision, Hargood said. After that, it was business as usual. He had been in contact with New Zealand Rugby (NZR) yesterday about that matter and other things, but Hargood said communication between the two entities was a daily thing.

‘‘We support provincial unions being able to set appropriate age grade rules within their own communities. This is about ensuring the game is as inclusive as possible without compromising safety,’’ said Steve Lancaster, NZR head of participation and development.

South Canterbury Rugby Football Union operates in a similar size playing pool to Wairarapa Bush, and also uses age grades, instead of weight grades. If they are larger for their age, they can get bumped up a grade, player and coach educator Tristram Johnston said.

If smaller, they could drop down a grade.

Each union goes about instituting rules that work best for its area, he said. Football NZ chief operating officer Dave Payne understood what the union was trying to do but thought there were better ways to go about it.